The SHOREBIRDS
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Len’s Lens – Volume 2 SHOREBIRDS In memory of Rich Stallcup 1944 - 2012 “Damn the winds, let’s go birding…” Copyright Len Blumin – March 2018 Front cover: Marbled Godwit – May – Bodega Bay, CA 2 Len’s Lens – Volume 2 The SHOREBIRDS Shorebirds are a group of specialized bird families that seen mostly along our coasts and at interior wetlands. A few have evolved to forage in upland areas. They number 210+ species worldwide, with about 50 species breeding regularly in North America (O’Brien, et. al., 2006). Current taxonomic schemes place shorebird families in the order Charadriiformes, along with the Gulls, Terns, and Auks (Alcids). Shorebirds families featured here are birds photographed on trips during the past 18 years: Recurvirostridae – Stilts and Avocets 6-9 Haematopodidae – Oystercatchers 10-13 Charadriidae – Plovers and Lapwings 14-27 Jacanidae – Jacanas 28 Scolopacidae – Sandpipers 29-60 3 Species Index Stilts and Avocets Sandpipers, Phalaropes and Allies – (continued) Black-necked Stilt 6-7 Red Knot 36 American Avocet 8-9 Surfbird 37 Ruff 38 Oystercatchers Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 39 Black Oystercatcher 10-11 Stilt Sandpiper 40 American Oystercatcher 12-13 Sanderling 41 Dunlin 42 Plovers and Lapwings Rock Sandpiper 43 Black-bellied Plover 14-15 Baird’s Sandpiper 44 American Golden-Plover 16 Least Sandpiper 45 Pacific Golden-Plover 17 Pectoral Sandpiper 46 Killdeer 18-19 Semipalmated Sandpiper 47 Wilson’s Plover 20-21 Western Sandpiper 48 Semipalmated Plover 22-23 Piping Plover 24 Short-billed Dowitcher 49 Snowy Plover 25 Long-billed Dowitcher 50 Mountain Plover 26 Southern Lapwing 27 Wilson’s Snipe 51 Jacanas Spotted Sandpiper 52 Northern Jacana 28 Solitary Sandpiper 53 Wandering Tattler 54 Sandpipers, Phalaropes and Allies Greater Yellowlegs 55 Upland Sandpiper 29 Lesser Yellowlegs 56 Whimbrel 30 Willet 57 Long-billed Curlew 31 Wilson’s Phalarope 58 Hudsonian Godwit 32 Red-necked Phalarope 59 Marbled Godwit 33 Red Phalarope 60 Black Turnstone 34 Ruddy Turnstone 35 (and back cover) (See p. 61 for Acknowledgements/References) 4 Photography and technical notes All photos were taken by the author, using an adapter to mount a small digital camera closely to the eyepiece of a Swarovski HD spotting telescope, a technique called “digi-scoping”. Over the years a number of cameras were used, starting with a Nikon twist-body CoolPix (CP) 4500, and progressing to the CP 8400, and the CP 6000. The newer Nikon 1 series cameras offered a larger sensor. The Nikon 1 V1 with the Nikkor 18.5mm lens has been a mainstay for the past 4-5 years. The quality of the scope is more important than the camera, and a steady tripod helps a lot. Taking photos through a spotting scope allows one to photograph birds from a distance, which in turn permits observing them with minimal disturbance. For producing the current volume the digital photos were reduced in size to 1 MB JPEGs, then imported to an MS Word document landscape template from the publisher (MagCloud). The final “book” file was saved as a PDF, in a size that allowed uploading to MagCloud for printing or viewing. A reduced PDF file of the book is then made available to send with an email or to view with a computer or portable device. Species are presented roughly in the order used by the American Ornithological Society (AOS), formed in 2016 by a merger of the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society (COS). Favorite sites for shorebird photography included California’s coast and wetlands (many), Florida’s Gulf Coast, Texas’ Gulf Coast, and Connecticut’s shores, plus a few from Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, and Costa Rica. Some “soft” photos are included. It seemed better to have a record shot than none at all. And of course there are numbers of shorebird species the author has yet to photograph. 5 Black-necked Stilt – Himantopus mexicanus (Left) – A male Black-necked Stilt rests in a field of Brass Button flowers on an island. The male stilt is jet black above, while the female is brown- black on her upperparts. There is little seasonal change in the plumage. Shorebird Marsh, Corte Madera, CA, May. (Right) – An adult Black-necked Stilt stays close to a brown-backed juvenile as they forage. The coverts and scapulars show faint buffy margins. The pink color on the legs deepens with age. Bothin Marsh, Mill Valley, CA, January. 6 Black-necked Stilt – Himantopus mexicanus (Above) - The young stilt has paler pink legs, a gray neck and gray-brown back. Shorebird Marsh, Corte Madera, CA, November. (Above) – Foraging adult Black-necked Stilt. The dark red iris is difficult to photograph. Shorebird Marsh, Corte Madera, CA, November. (Left) – Juvenile stilt, sitting on its ankles. Note the fringes on the scapulars and coverts. Shollenberger Park, (Right) – A female Petaluma, CA, July. stilt with her spotted egg. Shollenberger Park, Petaluma, CA, May, 7 American Avocet – Recurvirostra americana Breeding plumage avocets. Female on the left has a more sharply upcurved bill. Las Gallinas ponds, San Rafael, CA, April 8 American Avocet – Recurvirostra americana (Above) – Adult male in winter (basic) plumage. They forage in bays and are quite tolerant of saline waters, even hypersaline sites such as Mono Lake, CA and Great Salt Lake, UT. Shorebird Marsh, Corte Madera, CA, December. (Above) – Adult American Avocet in breeding plumage. The long legs with partially webbed toes (Above) – A days-old avocet is able to forage for help when foraging in muddy substrates. itself. Shollenberger Park, Petaluma, CA, July. Shollenberger Park, Petaluma, CA, June. 9 Black Oystercatcher – Haematopus bachmani (Right) – A pair of Black Oystercatchers rest just above the high tide line. Note the laterally compressed bills that allow them open mussels that are found on rocky outcrops, such as here just below the viewing area at Bodega Head, Bodega Bay, CA, October. Despite the name, they rarely eat oysters. (Above) – Oystercatcher pair on the rocky shore of Strawberry Point, Mill Valley, CA, November. The female is on the left, as explained below. (Right) – The female’s pupil usually looks out of round, due to the presence of a black fleck on the yellow iris at the 7:30 o’clock position. A smaller fleck may be seen there in some males. (See page 61, Guzzetti, 2008.)k (Left) – The male’s pupil usually looks rounder than the female’s. 10 Black Oystercatcher – Haematopus bachmani (Right) – The adult oystercatcher has pried a limpet from an intertidal rock using its flattened bill as a chisel. Their diet consists main of limpets and mussels, plus the occasion worm. Spud Point Marina, Bodega Bay Harbor, CA, March. (Below) – The red color of the bill develops gradually over the first 2-3 years. The distal half of the bill on this subadult is still gray. Porto Bodega, Bodega Bay Harbor, CA, May. 11 American Oystercatcher – Haematopus palliatus The American Oystercatcher has white underparts, easily distinguishing it from the west coast Black Oystercatcher. Bird pictured above is a female, as judged by the prominent black fleck at the 7:30 position on the yellow iris. Fred Howard, Park Tarpon Springs, FL, February. 12 American Oystercatcher – Haematopus palliatus Adult male American Oystercatcher (round pupil). North Beach, Fort De Soto Park, FL, February. 13 Black-bellied Plover – Pluvialis squatarola The black-bellied is the largest of the Pluvialis plovers. Note the robust build and heavy bill. The breeding male (above) is blacker than the female. Soon they’ll head north to breed in the tundra. Seen here at North Beach, Fort De Soto Park, St. Petersburg, FL, late April. 14 Black-bellied Plover – Pluvialis squatarola (Left) - Typical winter plumage, with muted shades of gray. Common on the West Coast. Plovers are sight feeders, with large eyes to spot a variety of invertebrate prey. San Leandro Marina, San Leandro, CA, December. (Right) - In April we see the appearance of some black on the face and belly, transitioning into breeding plumage. Rollover Pass, Bolivar Peninsula, TX, April. 15 American Golden-Plover – Pluvialis dominica (Left) – American Golden-Plover in a muddy field near the entrance to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, TX, April. Note the long wingtips and the prominent white supercillium. (Right) – Long wings extend beyond tail, here showing the tips of 4 primary feathers. (Right) – During migration the American Golden-Plovers feed on a variety of invertebrate prey. A mowed lawn makes it easy for them to find insects and worms. The face and belly are in transition to the jet black of breeding plumage. They are less shy in public areas like here at Fort Travis Park, Bolivar Point, TX, near the entrance to Galveston Bay. April. 16 Pacific Golden-Plover – Pluvialis fulva (Left) – Pacific Golden-Plover in February, resting on the shoreline of a diked pond at Shollenberger Park, Petaluma, CA. The bill is intermediate in thickness and length between those of the Black-bellied and American Golden-Plovers. To me they are the most golden of the golden-plovers. (Right) –Small numbers of these bright golden-plovers winter in the San Francisco Bay area, usually in the company of Black- bellied Plovers. The wings are not quite as long as those of the American Golden-Plover, and fewer black primaries project past the tertials. Shollenberger Park. Petaluma, CA, February. 17 Killdeer – Charadrius vociferus (Left) – Juvenile Killdeer. Las Gallinas, San Rafael, CA, June. The upperpart feathers have neat buffy edges. Killdeers earned the “vociferus” part of their name by their frequent piercing flight calls. (Right) – Killdeers are seen throughout the U.S., both near water and in open fields or lawns. The flame orange eyering glows when the angle of the sun is just right. The Killdeer is the largest of our Charadrius plovers.